


comfort in the darkness

by remi_wolf



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: (it's not whump it's a nice time but i wrote it for whumptober), Couch Cuddles, Fluff, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Power Outage, The Magnus Archives Season 2, Whumptober, Whumptober 2020, look it's just a soft time in the magnus archives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:49:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27242230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/remi_wolf/pseuds/remi_wolf
Summary: A sudden power outage leaves Martin fumbling in the dark. At least Tim's there to find him, and they're able to find Jon together. For once, maybe they can have a few minutes where they feel safe and comfortable together, without the pressures of the supernatural fears pressing in on them after the Prentiss Attack.Whumptober 2020: Day 27. Prompt: Power Outage.
Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist/Tim Stoker
Comments: 2
Kudos: 51
Collections: Beguilements and Distractions, Remi's Whumptober Collection for 2020, Whumptober 2020





	comfort in the darkness

Martin jumped as he heard a lightbulb explode, just as his computer flipped off. He couldn’t help the stab of panic, hands already shaking as he tried to reach for some sort of light, or his lamp, or even his phone. The archives were pitch-black, and a month after the Jane Prentiss attack, he was still absolutely on edge. He knew Tim was getting upset with him and his constant terror, but he had, after all, spent the longest time being hunted by that monster, even if he didn’t know why or what was happening. Being a basement, the Archives were entirely black, without much by way of light, and for some reason, even the emergency lights hadn’t turned on, even if the pale green illumination of the exit sign bathed everything in a sickly green light that he could barely even see by. 

“Martin? You alright? What...what just happened?” 

Martin looked up as he heard Tim’s voice, and he stood up, quietly cursing as he caught his thigh on the corner of the desk. “Here! I’m here, I think—”

“Lights just went out. I’ll try to see if there’s the breaker upstairs or if it’s another problem.”

Martin glanced over at where Sasha’s voice was coming from. A dark shape shifted, far too large to be Sasha, with angles sharp and jagged, and he yelped as he tripped over his chair as he tried to stumble away from it. The shape didn’t stop, though he could hear Sasha’s annoyed or amused snort.

“Fuck, Martin, you alright?” 

“Fine. I’m just...I tripped. Thought I saw something,” Martin replied, looking around before stopping as he heard Tim’s footsteps on the concrete floor, and he pulled his hands closer to him so that he wouldn’t get hurt. 

Tim made a quietly concerned noise as he walked around the mess of desks, looking like no more than a dark shape shifting, and Martin finally closed his eyes. He hated this, he hated seeing monsters in the dark and feeling a prickle against his spine as though something was watching him in the dark like some sort of animal hunting him. He didn’t want to be here while it was dark. Even when he had been staying here for weeks, he was sure to leave at least a few lamps on, if only to cut through the dark gloom in the offices. 

Martin wasn’t ashamed to admit that he screamed as he felt a hand suddenly hit his head, grabbing at his curls, and he swung his elbow back. Tim yelped, and Martin yelped, and soon, Tim was falling onto Martin in a heap, Tim’s elbow knocking the wind out of Martin’s lungs. 

“Fuck! Sorry, Martin. Sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“It’s okay! It’s okay, Tim. I’m the one that jumped and startled first. I should have realized that it was you.” Martin took a deep breath, shifting so that he could squeeze Tim’s waist as he caught his breath slowly. His heartbeat still felt like it was pounding in his ears, with his hands trembling the moment he didn’t cling to something, but having Tim pressed against his body felt a little bit better. 

“Glad I had a soft pillow to land on.” Tim’s voice sounded hesitant, as though he wasn’t entirely sure whether he was allowed to say something like that, but Martin smiled regardless, squeezing Tim gently. 

“I’m glad I managed to keep you from hitting your head on the floor or the desk,” Martin murmured in return before finally loosening his hold on Tim. “We should go check on Jon. I don’t know how he does in the dark, but he seems jumpier than he used to.”

Tim sighed, a quiet noise, and Martin made a concerned hum in return. Tim responded with another noise, a quietly little annoyed noise, and Martin hummed again, a bit more pointed and forceful.

“Alright. I suppose so,” Tim said, huffing softly. Martin could practically hear the way he rolled his eyes. Still, he nodded, relaxing when there wasn’t much of a fight beyond the quiet little argument. He knew everything was tense between all of them after the Prentiss Attack, but that didn’t mean it needed to stay that way. If they could just  _ talk _ to each other, then maybe they’d be fine and could fix whatever happened with the attack to already break them apart. He stood up, helping Tim to his feet as well, before finding his hand. 

“Scared of the dark?”

“Just the Archives. It’s always a little bit too dark,” Martin said quickly, almost stumbling over the words as he had the chair moments before. He attempted a smile before realizing that Tim probably wouldn’t be able to see it at all, and it faded quickly as he looked back at his feet. “Know how to get to the office from here?”

“Yep. Six steps from your desk, twelve towards the actual Archive door.”

Martin blinked, glancing towards the source of Tim’s voice. “How do—” 

“Brother’s sight wasn’t the best, and I used to get migraines where light makes them worse. We got used to measuring distance in steps for places we knew well. Old habits die hard, and all.” Tim squeezed Martin’s hand gently, and Martin nodded as he squeezed Tim’s hand in return. 

“Useful. You...can you teach me how to do that some time? I know—” Martin cut himself off with a self-conscious chuckle as Tim started walking, leading them towards Jon’s office door. “I know that it sounds silly, but it might be nice?”

“Yeah, course.” There was another gentle squeeze to Martin’s hand, and slowly, Martin began to relax next to Tim. It was still dark, but he was starting to see more shapes than simply black and less-black, able to actually make out the shape of Tim in the dim green light, as opposed to the wall behind him, or the cubicles, or even the piles of archival material that they still needed to sort and put away before too long. 

It certainly sounded like they were doing a better time than Jon, who, as Martin could hear as they got closer to his office, was quietly cursing and bumping into things. There was the crash of ceramic as well, and Martin winced, already reaching out towards the door handle to try and help get to Jon faster. Luckily, the door wasn’t much further, and his hand found the knob, and he twisted and pulled. 

“Here to save the day, Jon. Just stay put, alright?”

“What? I’m fine!” Jon sounded slightly indignant at the sound of Tim’s voice, though Martin could hear the strain of pain or something underneath all of it. Making it even more obvious that Jon wasn’t entirely fine was the sound of someone running into the desk, and Jon’s voice quietly swearing again. 

Martin let go of Tim’s hand as he walked further into the room, reaching out until he felt the desk, and then he reached out to find Jon not too much farther. “Oh! Oh, hello there, Jon.”

“Yes, I know. Hello, Martin. Tim’s there as well?”

“Yep. And we’re going to sit on the couch until the power flips back on.”

Martin blinked, almost surprised that Tim was suggesting it, but he smiled, especially as he felt Jon’s hand quickly tighten around his own.

“Alright. That might be for the best, after all. I wouldn’t want anyone to get lost or hurt because they can’t see anything, and Martin’s shaking like a leaf—”

“Hey!”

There was another squeeze of Martin’s hand at his indignation, and Martin sighed softly, as he squeezed Jon’s hand in return. He  _ was _ shaking like a leaf, so he supposed he couldn’t get too annoyed. After a moment, Martin just sighed as he started pulling Jon around the desk and over to Tim so that they could all stumble over to the couch. 

“I’m...not a fan of the dark,” Martin murmured softly, as they walked the last few steps between the desk and the couch. “I didn’t like the worms, and I hate fire, but I’m not a fan of the dark. I never have been.”

Neither Tim nor Jon said anything, though Martin could feel both of their hands tighten around his, squeezing his hands tight. After a moment, Tim was suddenly tugging at him and Martin fell into Tim’s lap, Jon quickly following after, and they all ended up in a heap with quiet and indignant noises all around. 

“Tim!”

“I just wanted Martin to feel better!”

Martin couldn’t help but laugh softly, adjusting so that he could sit better on Tim’s lap while Jon was close to him as well. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. It was comfortable, at least. 

“Well...I suppose we all can sit for a while. So that Martin doesn’t hurt himself or get lost. It might be nice.” Jon shifted, and while he sounded not entirely convinced, Martin definitely felt his slim fingers find his hand again and squeeze, and Martin sighed softly, snuggling into the two of them better until the lights turned on again.

**Author's Note:**

> Look, I just wanted a nice time for the three of them. I gave Jon some nightmares about what could have been earlier in the month, so here we are with some genuinely soft cuddles between Tim and Jon and Martin. I hope everyone enjoyed it. Comments, as always, are welcome.


End file.
